OXFORD, Miss.- Trailing at halftime, the Ole Miss women's basketball team came out of the locker room on a tear and with a 59-point second half, cruised to an 83-62 win over the visiting Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Friday (Nov. 8) night at the Tad Smith Coliseum.

The Rebels had three players in double figures, led by a team-high 18 points from Tia Faleru. Valencia McFarland and Diara Moore had 15 and 11 points, respectively, while Kenyotta Jenkins led the way on the glass with a career-high 12 rebounds. Faleru also posted double-figure rebounds with 10 boards for her sixth career double-double.

"It's a tale of two halves," said head coach Matt Insell. "We came out in the second half, and it was all about our effort. I'm very happy to get this first win under our belts. The kids were nervous. We aren't going to the postseason in November, but every game is important. These kids played hard in the second half."

Trailing 35-24 at the halftime break, Ole Miss came out on fire and opened the half on a 16-2 run to tie the game 41 at the 14:49 mark of the half. A three-point play from Danielle McCray 1:39 later would put the Rebels up 46-45, a lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the contest.

The game was certainly a tale of two halves for Ole Miss. The Rebels struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting just 19.5 percent on 8-of-41 shooting from the floor and going 0-of-11 from the three-point line. The Gamecocks, led by Candace Morton who posted a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds, held a 13-point lead over the Rebels in the first stanza and closed the half on a 6-1 run to take a 35-24 lead into the break.

Freshman Bretta Hart provided a spark for the Rebels off the bench in the final minutes of the first half. The rookie out of Poplarville, Miss., provided a big block and went 4-of-4 down the line to rally her squad late.

The second half was a much different story for the Rebels, who shot 61.5 percent on 24-of-39 shooting and drained three triples. McFarland, who was scoreless in the first half, opened the scoring for Ole Miss just 48 seconds into the second half.

Following a McFarland layup, Gracie Frizzell got involved with the jumper and from that point the basket was as big as the ocean for Ole Miss who connected on six of their next seven shots. The shots even began to fall long range for the squad, as rookie Tianah Alvarado connected with on a three-pointer, the first of her career and the first for the Rebels this season, at the 14:49 mark.

An old-fashioned three-point play from Moore at the 11:43 mark would give the Rebels a double-digit lead as they cruised to the first win of the Matt Insell era.

Ole Miss is back in action at Tad Smith Coliseum on Sunday (Nov.10) when they take on Central Arkansas in non-conference action. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and it is International Students Day. Also if you bring your ticket stub from the Arkansas football game you get in FREE!

Season tickets are on sale for the 2013-14 season and can be purchased for just $50. For additional ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587).

Rebel SidelinesToday's game is the first game of the Matt Insell era of Ole Miss women's basketball. Insell was named the eighth head coach of March 28, 2013. Insell at 31 is the second youngest women's basketball coach in Division 1 and the youngest head coach in the SEC ... Shequila Joseph started her first collegiate game tonight ... Claudia Ortiz, Bretta Hart and Tianah Alvarado also each made their collegiate debuts ... Ole moves to 37-3 in home openers ... The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Rebels dating back to last season ... Ole Miss has now won its sixth consecutive season-opening game and is nine consecutive home-opening game ... Tia Faleru posted her sixth career double-double ... The Rebels are now 29-5 against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference.

The calendar turned to March, as the men's and women's basketball teams march toward the SEC Tournament and postseason play. The baseball team faced perhaps its biggest challenge of nonconference play. The softball and men's tennis teams each had another... read more

The numbers and bracket projections may not be in his favor at this point, but head women's basketball coach Matt Insell is selling the NCAA Tournament selection committee on his team passing the eye test, as Ole Miss enters its... read more

BATON ROUGE, La. -- With an opportunity to perhaps lock itself into the NCAA Tournament, or at the very least enhance its resume, Ole Miss lost back-to-back games for the first time all season, falling on the road at LSU... read more

Despite the most recent home loss to Georgia on Wednesday night, Ole Miss remains a team projected to be solidly in the field, as the Rebels put their school record four-game SEC road winning streak on the line when they... read more

If recent history is any indication, Ole Miss and Georgia are likely to go down to the wire on Wednesday night. Four of the last five meetings over the last three seasons have been decided by five points or less,... read more

The defensive backs, including former Ole Miss players Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt, participated in on-field workouts at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine on Monday in Indianapolis. Looking ahead, Ole Miss will hold its annual pro day on March 5... read more

Ole Miss Athletics Week in Review Feb. 17-23, 2015 Men's Basketball - Ole Miss posted a 2-0 mark last week with a 71-65 win at Mississippi State and a 59-57 victory over Tennessee. The Rebels improved to 10-4 in the... read more

Despite winter weather that affected many teams, it was a busy week for Ole Miss athletics. The men's basketball completed a 2-0 week and has positioned itself well entering the last two weeks of the regular season. The baseball, women's... read more

After missing the end of the 2013 season and the entire 2014 season due to recovery from a torn labrum, sophomore right-hander Brady Bramlett has been brilliant in his first two outings back in 2015, fanning 19 batters through 12.0... read more

For the second time in as many weeks, Ole Miss embarks on a Thursday-Saturday swing, returning home to host Tennessee on Saturday after a 71-65 win on Thursday at Mississippi State. During the previous week, Ole Miss was on the... read more